Kind of unique roof leak?


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Old 01-15-17, 07:59 AM
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Kind of unique roof leak?

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I had a small roof leak recently show up inside the living room of my home. Near the exterior wall. I've seen ice dam photos but this is not like that in that the ice build up is not over a half inch thick. I venture up into the attic about once a year during heavy rain to make sure there is no roof leak and there never has been. I believe the roof is relatively young (under 10 years).

When I went up in the attic during this storm I saw no roof leaks directly over where I saw the wet spot in the living room but in another section of the roof I saw a larger wet spot but the moisture had apparently not reached the interior ceiling)

Thoughts? (I believe there was more ice on the roof when the leak began, our temps are also teetering at above/below freezing outside. The wet spot in the living room also appears to be drying up although it's raining out)
 
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Old 01-15-17, 08:43 AM
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If you look higher up on your roof you can see bare shingles and it's not until you're near the bottom that it's a solid sheet. So, you've got some sorta ice damming. I don't think it's enough to cause water to back up under the shingles.

Once the roof dries and is safe to go up there I would look over the area closely. You might have a nail pop or something small letting water in.
 
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Old 01-18-17, 06:52 AM
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I spoke to the top rated roofer and he came out and checked out my roof and said it is in really good shape and began to explain how the ice freezes between the shingles and can cause leaks.

Then I spoke with an insurance adjuster and they said it basically "just happens". Keep in mind we had almost a 1/2" of ice covering a lot of surfaces in the area. He advised the only way to fix it is to rip off the whole roof and install some sort of barrier (if I recall correctly) and he said the only way insurance will pay for an entire roof replacement is if there is wind or hail damage.

In my opinion and the roofers opinion that came out my roof is in really good shape, no hail or wind damage. There's a few small cracks on some shingles but they are glued tight to the shingle below so the roofer that came out said it was probably cracked during install from the previous installers.



My issue at the moment is that the attic wet spots on the plywood (sheathing) are still there and doesn't appear to be drying out quickly. It is currently about 40F outside and I believe the attic is probably around 50F. 30% humidity in home and about 90% humidity outside. Cellulose insulation too (if that matters)
 
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Old 01-18-17, 08:20 AM
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Nothing will dry out quickly with the weather you're having so it will take time. To prevent ice dams it in the future the easiest precautions are better insulation in the attic and better attic ventilation. On south facing roof you'll still get melt coming down the roof but hopefully the sun heated roof will be warmed more evenly and the water will go all the way off the roof instead of freezing at the eaves.
 
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Old 01-18-17, 03:24 PM
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This is why 2 courses of ice and water shield are required by some municipalities along the eves. And why underlayment (felt paper) is required. I am constantly surprised when I see or hear about roofers skipping the felt underlayment when the mfg requires it. The mfg also has special overlap requirements for low slope roofs (2:12 to 4:12) A lot of leaks could be prevented if the roofers would just lap the felt paper over itself farther like the mfg instructions indicate.
 
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Old 01-23-17, 06:16 PM
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The attic is still showing a wet spot after a week. It's been humid and rained quite a bit. About 44F most of the week too. Nothing new and nothing spread though. Just that same dark tinted discolored wet spot. I have blow in cellulose so if I push too much air up there I would make a mess. Probably clog a dehumidifier filter pretty quick too. The lingering wet spot has me worried though.

I know someone that had the same issue except they had more leaks. Insurance adjuster just told them it was ice backing up the water like I feel my issue is.
 
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Old 01-23-17, 08:34 PM
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When it's wet under the shingles, the water pretty much needs to dry downward into the plywood because it just stays wet under the shingles until the plywood soaks up the water much like a sponge would. So yes, a little air movement from a box fan on an extension cord would help... it doesn't have to be set on high. 40F is not ideal temperature to promote drying, but dry air in the winter helps... you just need to move air and dry it out asap before it starts to get warm and moldy.
 
 

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